The Seattle University men’s golf team started its final regular season tournament of the 2013-14 year, ending up in 10th place after Friday’s first round of the El Macero Classic, co-hosted by UC Davis and Nevada at the El Macero Country Club.
With all Seattle U golfers teeing off from the 10th hole, Ross Kukula (Ocean Park, Wash.) recovered from bogeying the first two holes of his round with birdies on three consecutive holes. He was at one-under-par until back-to-back bogeys late in his round pushed him back to one-over-par, where he remained the rest of the way for a 73, good enough for a tie for 14th place in the individual standings.
Kyle Cornett (Mill Creek, Wash.) had a steady round going until two double bogeys during the second half of his circuit, but a birdie on his final hole allowed him to shoot three-over-par 75 to end the day in a tie for 27th place. Luka Karaula (Zapresic, Croatia) collected three birdies during his opening round, but a double bogey on his final hole dropped him back into a tie for 33rd place with a 76 (+4).
A birdie on the 18th hole was the highlight of Ahren Young’s (Renton, Wash.) first round, as he posted an 81 (+9) to finish the day in 62nd place. Patrick Sato (Bellevue, Wash.) earned seven straight pars during the middle of his round, but a rough start and a bad finish put him in 67th place with a first round score of 84 (+12).
Seattle U combined to shoot 305 (+17) in the opening round to end the day in 10th place, still within striking distance of several teams ahead of it in the team standings. UC Davis shot five-under-par 283 for a two-stroke lead over Cal State Fullerton, with Mark Anguiano of the Titans leading the individual standings by two strokes after shooting 65 (-7) in the opening round.
The second round of the El Macero Classic is scheduled for Saturday, April 19, starting at 10:30 a.m., followed by the third and final round Sunday, April 20, beginning at 7 a.m. Live scoring for the tournament can be found at http://www.golfstatresults.com//public/indexh.cfm?tournament_id=5268.